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Belfast Telegraph
2 days ago
- Sport
- Belfast Telegraph
Bangor rider taken to hospital after red flag crash as Manx GP qualifying is abandoned
McAllister came off at the notorious Black Dub section of the 37.73-mile Mountain Course in the Junior/Supertwin session. The incident resulted in a red flag at around 6:40pm, with competitors returning to the Grandstand under convoy with travelling marshals. McAllister, a regular at the Irish road races, was taken to Noble's Hospital in Douglas with reported arm injuries. The Bangor man was described as 'conscious and talking' in an update provided by the event organisers. MGP Clerk of the Course Gary Thompson stated his aim of running a practice session for the Senior/Supersport machines following the stoppage, but with the clean-up operation taking longer than expected, coupled with fading light, the decision was taken to abandon the remainder of the evening schedule. Practice for the Manx Grand Prix commenced on Sunday afternoon in perfect conditions on the Isle of Man, with riders gaining plenty of track time. Scotsman Chris Cook topped the Senior MGP times with the fastest lap at 117.731mph on his 600cc Kawasaki to lead the way from Manxman Jamie Williams and the Republic of Ireland's Andy Farrell, who is competing at the event after an absence of several years. In the Junior/Supertwin class, Michael Gahan from Limavady set the pace on the Scott Racing Aprilia at 111.85mph to lead Williams by only six tenths of a second. On Wednesday, many of the top names from the Isle of Man TT will participate in the first qualifying sessions for the resurrected Classic TT, including record-breaking 33-time TT winner Michael Dunlop and fellow leading contenders Davey Todd and Dean Harrison. Last year's Manx Grand Prix was decimated by inclement weather, with the worst disruption in many years caused by high winds and torrential rain from Storm Lilian. Six races were crammed into the final day of the 2024 meeting, reduced in distance to a single lap to ensure the schedule was completed. However, the forecast is set fair on the Island this week and race boss Thompson is optimistic there will be no repeat of last year's disruption, with greater flexibility around the schedule over the next fortnight following the reintroduction of the Classic TT, which was last held as a standalone event in 2019. 'We'll utilise the contingency sessions carefully, and if I can take this opportunity, I do appreciate and thank everybody for their resilience and patience in the past,' Thompson said. 'Obviously we had a testing TT weather-wise, we had a testing Manx Grand Prix last year – so we are due a good one actually, and we will get that in the next few days.' However, Thompson is mindful of the reduced window for evening qualifying sessions with fading light at this stage of the summer. 'We've got a natural reduction in light compared to what we have for the TT event in May,' he said. 'At the Manx Grand Prix/Classic TT we have to flag all [sessions] at eight o'clock during qualifying week, so we automatically lose almost an hour of qualifying practice.' With last night's qualifying session lost, the organisers will be hoping everything runs smoothly over the next few nights ahead of Saturday's first races. Qualifying is scheduled to resume at 6:30pm on Tuesday.
Belfast Telegraph
3 days ago
- Sport
- Belfast Telegraph
Manx GP roars into life as Limavady rider impresses in practice
Gahan, from Limavady, put down an early marker around the infamous 37.73-mile Mountain Course, recording his fastest lap on the opening day of the festival at 111.85mph on the Scott Racing Aprilia machine. He was around six tenths of a second faster than the returning Jamie Williams, who missed his home meeting last summer after suffering injuries in a crash on the first day of qualifying. Williams, one of the big favourites, did 111.794mph on the NCE Racing Aprilia as he eased himself back into the groove. Republic of Ireland rider Liam Chawke was fourth fastest on a KMR Kawasaki for Ryan Farquhar behind Lewis Arrowsmith on the time sheets, while Caomhan Canny from Donegal put his injury woes behind him to end the first day in fifth position. Canny, riding an Aprilia Supertwin, sustained multiple injuries in a red-flag spill at the Tandragee 100 seven weeks ago but has been cleared to race at the Manx meeting. 'When we came last year, we knew the machinery might not be competitive but all we wanted to do was finish races on the Isle of Man circuit,' Canny said. 'The machinery this year is a lot better, so hopefully we'll see how we go all week, and we'll just take it as it comes.' Last year's Manx Grand Prix was hit by unprecedented weather disruption due to Storm Lilian, with six races crammed into the final day. However, yesterday's fine summer weather was in stark contrast and Canny was eager to make the most of the dry conditions. 'To put it into context, after this evening I'll have [completed] as many laps as I did all of last year [on the Mountain Course],' he said. 'That's a massive thing because it takes years and years of learning; this is somewhere you don't want to push too quick because unfortunately things can happen, and we just want to take our time, be smooth and we feel very comfortable with the times we're doing, so let's just hope we can keep progressing as the week goes on.' In the Senior class, Scotland's Chris Cook set the fastest lap of the day at 117.731mph on his Kawasaki ZX6R. Cook was seven seconds faster than Williams in second on the NCE Racing Honda (116.959mph), with Andy Farrell in third on his Yamaha. Southern Irish rider Farrell is back at the event after an absence of a few years and was quickly up to speed. Gahan was fourth fastest on his Yamaha R6 at 115.226mph ahead of Ryan Whitehall, with Canny in 12th following a lap of 114.197mph on his Suzuki 750. Practice for the Manx Grand Prix will continue on Monday, with roads closed from 6pm. Top TT riders including Michael Dunlop, Davey Todd, Dean Harrison and John McGuinness will be in action on Wednesday, when the opening Classic TT qualifying sessions are held. The Classic TT is running in tandem with the Manx GP this year for the first time since 2019. At the weekend, record-breaking 33-time TT winner Dunlop unveiled a replica of Joey Dunlop's Formula 1-winning Honda SP1 machine from 2000 that he will ride in a special parade lap. Dunlop built the machine to participate in the Joey Dunlop F1 Tribute Lap, when he will ride the legendary Honda around the Mountain Course on Friday, August 29 as the festival comes to a close. Ulster sporting great Joey won the Formula 1 race for the final time 25 years ago at the TT as part of a famous hat-trick, just weeks before he was killed in a racing crash in Estonia.
